Controversial Israeli documentary Advocate won best documentary during Wednesday's 42nd Annual News and Documentary Emmy Awards.
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The film was up for Emmy awards in two categories: Best Documentary and Outstanding Politics and Government Documentary categories.
Advocate, from directors Rachel Leah Jones and Philippe Bellaiche, follows Israeli human-rights lawyer Lea Tsemel as she navigates through the Israeli judicial system in defense of Palestinian security prisoners, including terrorists indicted for the gruesome murder of Jews.
Advocate premiered at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival, and went on to win top prizes at Thessaloniki Documentary Festival, Krakow Film Festival, Hong Kong International Film Festival, and the Docaviv Festival. It was also shortlisted for that year's Academy Awards in the Best Documentary Feature category.
In September 2020, the film was also nominated for Ophir Awards – Israel's version of the Academy Awards – in the Best Documentary category.
The nomination angered the families of terror victims and 106 bereaved families appealed to Culture and Sports Minister Hili Tropper to disqualify its candidacy. He refused, and the film won.
"It is a great honor for us as international filmmakers to receive such recognition from our colleagues in the United States," Jones and Bellaiche said in a statement upon learning of the Emmy nomination. "Following the broadcast of the American version of the film as part of the Public Broadcasting Corporation's documentary series, it has reached about 200 million screens across North America."
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